Telangana High Court Slams TGPSC for 'Shifting Grounds' on Local Candidature

The Telangana High Court on Tuesday criticised the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TGPSC) for employing 'inconsistent and shifting grounds' while determining local candidature, stating that such actions undermine the credibility of its decision-making process.

A division bench of Justices P. Sam Koshy and Narsing Rao Nandikonda dismissed an appeal by the TGPSC challenging a single judge order that granted local status to a candidate for the post of Assistant Executive Engineer. The court upheld the single judge order, taking serious note of the commission's fluctuating reasoning.

The bench observed that at times, the TGPSC rejected local status based on an alleged absence of four consecutive academic years, and at other times, on the grounds that classes first to seventh were pursued outside Telangana. 'Such fluctuating reasons — when advanced to sustain the same adverse outcome — disclose non-application of mind and failure to follow settled guidelines in a consistent and legally sustainable manner,' the judgment stated.

The court emphasised that the TGPSC, being a statutory body, must strictly comply with the governing Presidential Order, follow stable standards, and avoid litigation that delays appointments. The judges noted that such actions unfairly burden candidates and result in a waste of time and public resources. 'Instituting and pursuing litigation on shifting premises without demonstrating a clear statutory mandate for the disqualification advanced results in needless wastage of time, public resources and the candidate's career prospects,' the bench said.

The case involved petitioner Palla Nishanth, who studied from first to sixth standard in Andhra Pradesh. He was selected for the post of Assistant Executive Engineer, but the TGPSC held he was not a local candidate because he did not study in any multi-zone in Telangana for four consecutive academic years ending with the seventh standard. The single judge had earlier ruled in his favour, leading to the TGPSC's appeal.

The division bench observed that the commission cannot apply the seventh standard as a universal benchmark for every post, regardless of the minimum qualifying examination prescribed. The court clarified that a person must be treated as a local candidate if they studied for four continuous academic years ending with the year in which they appeared for the qualifying examination.